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A man and two children are facing charges after three separate bear spray incidents over the weekend in Saskatoon.
In one of the cases a bus driver was allegedly attacked, and another took place on a Saskatoon Transit bus.
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According to police, the first incident happened late on Friday morning, when an officer spotted a fight near Third Avenue North and 23rd Street “and learned bear spray had been deployed. The group was detained, and police said a can of bear spray was found.
As a result, a 34-year-old man is now facing charges of possession of a dangerous weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, and breaching court-ordered conditions.
The second incident happened just after 9 p.m. on Saturday, when police were called to 20th Street and Avenue B South after getting reports that a bus driver had been assaulted with the stinging spray.
“Further investigation located the suspects a short distance away,” the Saskatoon Police Service said in a statement.
“A 15-year-old female was found in possession of a can of bear spray and attempted to resist arrest.”
The girl was ultimately arrested, and is now charged with assaulting a police officer, assault with a weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, and resisting arrest.
The third incident happened at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, when a report came in to police saying bear spray had been deployed on a Saskatoon Transit bus on 23rd Street.
“Police arrived on scene within minutes of the report and observed the suspects fleeing on foot,” the police service said. “A 14-year-old male was arrested and found to be in possession of a can of bear spray.”
The boy is now facing charges of assault with a weapon and mischief.
Bear spray is a deterrent containing capsaicin, a chemical found in chili peppers. The canister releases a cone-shaped cloud of spray to a distance of approximately 10 m and at a speed of over 100 km/h. Capsaicin inflames the eyes and respiratory system of both animals and humans.
According to bearwise.org, the spray is oil-based, so first aid for the bear spray is to wash off the residue with soap and water, don’t rub your eyes or nose, and rinse your eyes with clean water until the irritation lessons. Effects generally wear off in about 45 minutes, the bear awareness site says.
Late last year, the provincial government announced new regulations aiming to reduce the number of criminal incidents involving bear spray.
The changes include regulations to restrict the possession of bear spray in public urban spaces and a ban on altering bear spray in order to hide or disguise the product’s identity.Anyone charged under the new regulations could face fines of up to $100,000.
According to the provincial government, police in Saskatchewan have responded to over 3,000 bear spray incidents over the last five years, but the total number of incidents involving bear spray could be much higher when factoring in unreported cases.
